


Scars

by KaytiKitty



Series: Merlin Fics [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Corporal Punishment, Gen, Hurt, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Protective Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Queen Gwen (Merlin), Torture, Whump, eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaytiKitty/pseuds/KaytiKitty
Summary: Merlin is only a servant and servants get punished, if only Arthur had realized that in time to save Merlin from some of his worst scars.
Relationships: Gwen & Merlin (Merlin), Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merlin Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2054550
Comments: 10
Kudos: 256





	Scars

**Author's Note:**

> First Merlin fanfic.. probably OOC a bit. The descriptions of the torture aren't necessarily graphic but still put the warning there just in case.

Merlin would do anything for Arthur, that much was well known, Merlin would always keep Arthur safe but the servant was getting rather tired of the punishments. Uther Pendragon, however, had not grown bored quite yet, especially not when it came to his son's useless and disrespectful servant. 

Merlin had known he wasn't well liked by the king but he had even less self control than self preservation, so really it was only a matter of time. The first time, well Merlin couldn't even really be mad because the king had a point. Merlin had disrespected Arthur, blatantly so. Sure it was a simple insult and if it had been in the privacy of the prince's room or even in front of others of their kingdom it would be frowned upon but ignored. Arthur wasn't affected, he snipped back and the two moved on. 

The king did not move on and neither did the visiting noble who had overheard. The man had glared at Merlin the rest of the night, even as Arthur retired from the feast. When Merlin got the summons from King Uther that night he had known he wasn't in for a pleasant chat. He was proven right of course. 

It was a soft punishment that first time, only a few hours before Merlin gave in. Not broke but gave in, Merlin did not break at something as pathetic as a vicious king with a superiority complex. The scold's bridle that had been placed over his face and constricted his tongue was not painful. The edges of the gag were sharp and cut deeply into the tender flesh if he so much as attempted an utterance but wasn't unmanageable. 

He had been determined to bare it until he seen Arthur again, certain the prince would have it taken off immediately. He ignored the traitorous thoughts of what if, instead insisting to himself that Arthur enjoyed their banter and even if he didn't the prince wouldn't gag Merlin, especially not in a way that had a bit of blood leaking from the servant's mouth. 

He could have done if not for the tears of Gwen and Gaius as they stared at him, the silence suffocating. Merlin would make a witty quip but even the slightest twitch led to the bladed edge digging deeper into his flesh, producing more blood and a whimper of pain from him, spurring sobs from Gwen's mouth. 

He had wanted to shout at them that it wasn't bad and Merlin was fine. Merlin only realized he wasn't fine when Gaius himself let out a hidden sob. Merlin ended up kneeled in front of the king that night, begging for forgiveness. The king hadn't broken him though, no, Merlin bad simply gave in for the time being. 

He was still going to insult Arthur and if he was a bit more cruel than need be the next morning Arthur didn't need to know why. 

○°○●•●○°○●•●○°○●•●

Merlin was careful after that, much more careful. As mentioned before, however, he had no self control and he once again found himself floundering under the harsh punishment. 

"If this were a time of war I'd have you flogged!" Uther said. He didn't sound particularly angry, neither at Merlin or at Arthur, so Merlin found himself relaxing slightly and offered a charming smile. 

"And since it's not, we'll let it go just this once?" He had asked hopefully and much to his surprise the king had. Well, the king had him thrown in the stocks but to Merlin it was a sweet relief. The stocks were meant to humiliate but Merlin honestly felt no blows to his confidence. The bruises left by some of the harder objects, like potatoes and the occasional stone a teenager had smugly thrown into their basket, were less painful than the whipping that was threatened. 

The stocks were not as terrible as Uther wanted but the most important thing was that it wasn't the whip or the scold's bridle. Then Arthur had asked him again, to take the blame again, lie to the king again. The threat from Uther was still fresh in Merlin's mind but so was the happy grin on Arthur's place. So Merlin had agreed. 

The whip somehow hurt worse than it appeared. Merlin supposed it could be because of the anticipation beforehand, or of course the salt that was applied shortly after. Uther had insisted on doing it himself but the king was a busy, busy man and so Merlin found himself awaiting his fate in the stocks. The fruit felt distinctly more dangerous that time if fruit could feel dangerous at all. 

Once he was dragged to Uther, the king already having chosen his whip and twirling it smugly, Merlin realized that he didn't regret his decision at all. 

Then with fresh and aching wounds Merlin found out it was yet another murder attempt and, well, regret was the last feeling he had time for.

■▪■□¤□■▪■□¤□■▪■□¤□

Merlin stared at the knight in shock. "Sorry, Sir," Merlin managed. The servant definitely knew it wasn't his fault but the glare from the knight made him hold his tongue. 

"You need to watch where you're going, you insolent-" Merlin tuned him out, simply resigning himself to the lecture. The knight had turned the corner and walked right into Merlin. Merlin who had been stationary and had in no way been at fault, yet he was the one who crashed to the ground and had an angry knight screaming at him. 

"Someone needs to teach you to watch your feet boy!" The knight had threatened and then the feeling of a rough hand in his hair, dragging his body along as Merlin had to practically crawl to keep low enough to be safe from having his hair ripped out. Merlin had muttered some nasty phrase. He had been certain the knight would take him to Arthur and the prince would surely take Merlin's side. 

The knight did not take him to Arthur. The knight instead took him to a private room, one that Merlin wasn't even aware existed in the castle. He was chained onto a table. "Is this a torture chamber?" Merlin asked shocked. He hated Uther but this was unbelievable even for the man. Mostly just for the fact that Uther Pendragon could never be this creative. 

The knight slapped Merlin hard across the face, causing the smaller boy to gasp in shock. Merlin had been through a bit more pain than a mere slap while trying to protect his oblivious prince. Merlin simply turned his head back, a simple question on his tongue. "What the fuck?" 

"I'm teaching you to pay more attention to your feet. You need to learn respect and suffering will be your teacher!" The knight proceeded to tie Merlin to a slanted table of some sorts. Merlin's magic buzzed along his skin, itching to get him out of the situation. He couldn't risk it though, nothing this knight could do would be worth leaving Arthur, would be worth seeing the hatred in his prince's eyes. 

"Suffering will be my teacher?" Merlin asked, feigning amusement. "You sound like someone else I know, cryptic and all that." The thought of Kilgharrah coming to mind. That bloody old beast. 

The knight simply ignored Merlin's attempts to impress himself with his own jokes. The knight removed Merlin's boots and suddenly Merlin got a very nauseous feeling at what was about to happen. 

"Hey now, isn't this a bit of an overreaction to you running into me?" Merlin tried, receiving nothing but a quick snap in response. It took a moment for Merlin to realize that the snap matched the dull shooting pain coming from his left foot. 

He tried to flex his toes by instinct and hissed when one of them provided a shock of sharper pain. "Now, listen to me!" The knight demanded as he pulled a wooden rod from a chest. Merlin felt a stab of panic, not only did he break Merlin's toe he was going to cane him. "From now on, you'll watch where you walk or you will lose these next time." The wood swung down and struck perfectly in the arch of Merlin's foot and the sensitive skin screamed as loud as Merlin. "Do you understand?" 

Merlin wanted to deny him, to refuse to cooperate, instead he nodded desperately. Another direct strike, then two more to his heel in quick succession. "Say it!" The knight ordered. Merlin whined at the pain. 

"I'll watch where I walk next time," Merlin gasped. The knight trailed the cane lightly down his foot before resting it just underneath his toes. 

"I don't believe you." The knight said and Merlin barely had time to tense before the cane struck. 

○°○□¤□○°○□¤□○°○□¤□

"Arthur," Merlin whined. The prince sighed and turned to Merlin. They had only been out on the hunt for a short time and Merlin had made a point to complain more than necessary. As a result his mouth was dry, leaving him drinking the last of his water quickly. There was a stream but Arthur had headed in the opposite direction before Merlin had started complaining about his water skin being empty. 

Arthur rolled his eyes when he seen Merlin's pleading eyes. It was an extremely hot day and sweat was already beading all of their foreheads. Being the leader of many hunts meant Arthur knew that while not dangerous it would be uncomfortable as his throat began to dry out. "Arthur, please, you prat!" Merlin said. 

A spark of amusement lit up the prince's eyes. "What was that, Servant? Did I just hear you beg?" Arthur joked. Merlin huffed indignantly but didn't deny it. That's what really made Arthur's mind up. With a few words of warning to his men, a quick message to not be an idiot like Merlin, he handed over his water skin. He had enough left that he wasn't worried about sharing with Merlin. The servant would make sure he left some for Arthur, as he always did when the two shared. 

That night after Arthur dismissed Merlin for the night, after teasing him the whole day, the servant was walking down the hall to his chambers when he was stopped. It was a few of the nights from the hunt today, all of them were smirking but not in the friendly way Arthur does or Lancelot and Gwaine did. It gave Merlin chills. 

"Thirsty, servant?" One of them asked, a barely restrained sneer in his voice. Merlin didn't have time to remind his brain why this was a bad thing before one of the knights had grabbed him. "Why don't you try begging us instead of your master?" There was a water skin held in front of him, taunting him. He hadn't meant to offend anybody, most knights were used to Arthur and Merlin interacting in that way. These three had been new though and weren't chosen by Arthur but Uther. 

"I said," the one in front of him growled, yanking back his hair harshly, "why don't you try begging us?" Merlin moves to make a snide remark and stand his ground. He doesn't get the chance. 

It's dark under the cloth that covers his face but that's not the scary part. The worst part is the water filling his lungs as his entire body jerks from where he had been strapped down. He wants to scream for help, scream he's going to die, call for Arthur, beg for forgiveness. With the water attacking his mouth and nose and lungs and the hands poking and prodding at his stomach leaving bruises he can't make a sound except for a choking desperate sob around the water he can't breath through. 

It hurts, it hurts so bad and all Merlin can think is he deserves it for being such an idiot.

■▪■●•●■▪■●•●■▪■●•●

"He'll just burn you. Once he figures out what you are, he'll light the pyre himself." The sorceress said softly. She leaned forward, gently, enough to fool a weaker man that the extra pressure on Merlin's already aching arm was a mistake. Merlin stifled his groan at the pain and offered his own venomous smile to the woman. 

His right arm was alternating slowly between agony and numbness as it supported all his body weight from the high ceiling. With hot coals and sharpened spikes on the floor beneath him Merlin had no choice but to subject either his arm to all the pressure above or his toes to the agony below. 

"Let him light it," Merlin challenged. "It won't be the first time I've died for him." The knights would probably protect him, they cared about him just as much as they cared for Arthur. At least Lancelot and Gwaine, therefore Percival as well, would stand with him. "I'll take any punishment he gives but I won't sell him out." His face was stone, determination locked it into place. 

The sorceress scowled. "Fine then, if you want to betray your own people then so be it!" Her eyes flashed gold and she threw her hand out, the hot coals sparking before bursting into a small fire. Merlin jerked against the rope, hearing a sickening snap in his arm as the flames licked up his legs. 

Pain was all Merlin knew. "All you have to do to stop it is telling me about the king," the old hag said. Something that mirrored pity rested in her eyes. "I don't even want the boy dead," she soothed. "He just has to feel the same pain we felt as he destroyed our home." 

The pain began to be too much mixed with the smell of Merlin's cooking flesh. He closed his eyes and focused all his power, his eyes turned golden when they opened and he needn't utter a single word of the spell before there was a loud roar from the sky. Merlin let himself go limp as he heard the telltale sound of his dragon coming to his rescue. 

He woke up in the middle of the woods, curled against Aithusa who was looking at him in concern. His magic had been at work while he slept and when he awoke he found the burns faded into scars and his shoulder that had held his body weight for hours simply ached like a dislocation. 

It would bother him for a few days but nothing more. "Thank you," Merlin said running his hand down the scales of his friendly winged lizard. Aithusa simply nudged into his hand before rolling onto their back. 

They remained like that, giving Merlin time to rest, until they heard horses nearby and the shouting of his name from his friends. Merlin let out a breathy laugh of relief and bid goodbye to Aithusa before stumbling up and towards his friends. 

  * ●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°



"Why do you serve the knights?" Came a younger voice from the doorway. Merlin jerked up in surprise before smiling at seeing Byram, one of the newer trainee knights, standing there. Byram had always been rather kind to Merlin even before seeing the king's favoritism for the servant, meaning the kid was nice just to be nice and not to gain rank. 

"You mean the knights of the round table?" Merlin asked. Byram nodded. "Because they're my friends, why?" Merlin raised an eyebrow. 

Byram frowned. "Sir Udolf and others were offended. They said that serving the likes of them was disrespectful since you belong to the king." The words clearly troubled the young boy as much as they did Merlin. 

Merlin scoffed. "Belong to him my ass." The servant began to polish Gwaine's armor with a bit more force. "Don't worry about it, Byram. I'll have a chat with Arthur about it. Thank you for bringing it up. Still on for magic practice tonight?" 

Byram immediately cheered up at the mention, holding his hands out to show Merlin the skill he had been working on. As small sparks jumped from his palms into the air Merlin felt sparks of happiness straight into his heart. This was possible because of Arthur, he was the only king of Camelot to allow magic to not only exist but to be used in the fights. At that moment Merlin figured he could be proud of belonging to Arthur… if he actually did that is. 

He was walking to Arthur's chambers when he noticed his tail. Sir Udolf. Merlin didn't have to debate his options, he had been on the end of one too many hallway ambushes. He took off in a sprint towards where Arthur was waiting. 

Merlin wasn't exactly fast though and his stamina was not nearly up to par. The footsteps chasing him gained quickly and before Merlin could bring himself to scream out for any of his friends there was a hand clamped over his mouth. 

Merlin struggled, uselessly, against the knight. Cursing him out, threatening him with Arthur's name. The thought of using his magic was strong, Arthur knew of it and accepted it, although hesitantly. If Merlin used it to escape Udolf it wouldn't be held against him but it could change things. Arthur might start to see his magic as dangerous and banish him or worse, Arthur might start seeing Merlin as a weapon. No, Merlin couldn't use his magic for this. 

Merlin bit the knight's hand, only to get slammed into the wall for his efforts. His vision went blurry at the impact, causing Merlin to cuss loudly. He let himself go limp, forcing his capture to drag him through the halls. 

He was dragged into a room where another few knights stood beside a blazing fire. Merlin glared at them the best he could but his eyes eventually landed on the object in the fire. 

He didn't have to question what it was, it was used oftentimes when Uther ruled but Arthur had cast them all out. The practice being labeled as cruel and inhumane. Not that anything Uther did was particularly kind. Arthur has refused to use this when Merlin was first punished, holding out even when his father had insisted. 

The brand was pulled out of the fire as Merlin was strung up, a rope around his neck forcing his head back against the wooden pillar. "You better keep that away from me," Merlin warned darkly. He didn't need to imagine Arthur's reaction to finding his crest burned into Merlin's flesh. He had seen the pure rage when Gwen had rushed into his chambers, a wreck and sobbing in pain. He had seen it when Leon had pulled his shirt off and the punishment had been noticeable against the pale skin around it. "Arthur is not favorable to owning folks that way." 

Udolf laughed, a harsh sound that grated on Merlin's nerves. "I think he'll be relieved you finally know your place!" Then before Merlin or the other knights, who now looked concerned, could protest the hot tip of the brand was pressed into the tender skin right below Merlin's chest. 

Merlin screamed. His magic burst from him. The vases in the room shattered, the knights flew back and hit the wall with a symphony of snaps, and the brand burned a bright golden color before setting itself a blaze and melting in Udolf's hands. 

The knight screeched in agony as the metal melted into molten in his hands. The Pendragon crest was carved into Merlin's chest with angry red scars but at least there was a disturbing beauty to it, Udolf's hands would never be anything but mounds of ruined flesh and scar tissue. 

■¤■□▪□■¤■□▪□■¤■

"I want him banished!" Merlin awoke to the angered shout. "I want him beaten and then banished, he will never set foot in Camelot again or I will kill him!" Arthur's voice held no room for argument and Merlin wondered what he had done this time to gain such a reaction. 

"I could always just kill him now," Gwaine said, his voice cold and extremely solemn. That's what really convinced Merlin to open his eyes. He glanced around to check on all his friends, who were stood around him in a semi-circle. Swords were drawn and held in white knuckled grips. 

"It's okay, Merlin, go back to sleep," Gwen's soft voice said from his side. Her hands were running softly through his hair, while another pair were pressed insistently against his chest. Merlin looked to his other side to see Byram, eyes glowing as he muttered a healing spell intently. "It's okay, Merlin. We're taking care of you." Gwen's promise lulled him back to sleep, barely giving him time to meet the eyes of Percival, and give him a reassuring grin, before they slipped closed.

The next time he awoke his chest stung a bit but not as if it had been set in fire recently. He peeked under his shirt to see thick ropey scars, a distorted image of the Pendragon crest. 

"The healing process mucked up the lines a little bit, Sir Byram figured it was better than the pain." Merlin looked over to find Gwaine and Leon standing by the door to Gaius' chambers. Leon had his shirt off, trailing his fingers over the thin, detailed scars that marred his chest. "It would've taken a lot more precision than Udolf had to get it as pretty as Leon's here anyway," Gwaine said, patting Leon on the back. 

The older knight rolled his eyes, amusement shining behind his annoyed smile. Merlin managed a grin too, no one else could joke about such a thing. "Where's the others?" Merlin asked, surprised that his throat didn't feel dry. 

"Arthur and Percival are having their turn questioning Udolf and the other knights that were present," Leon informed, Gwaine's savage grin told Merlin exactly what type of questioning was truly happening. "Elyan and Gwen have collected all the brands from the entirety of the castle and noble's homes, on Arthur's orders, and have been smelting them for a project." Neither knight gave any indication of what this project was and Merlin didn't ask. 

"Sir Byram and Gaius just left a few minutes ago. Apparently Byram's magic was angry and kept destroying things." Merlin frowned at that little tidbit of information. Normally the teacher in Merlin would be disappointed in his pupil for not controlling his emotional magic, but right now Merlin just felt warm and safe. 

■○■□●□■○■□●□■○■□●□

"Merlin," Arthur started softly. The whole table grew quiet, Gwen putting her hand over her husband's. "We noticed some other scars while your brand healed and we… I was concerned." 

Merlin frowned, his mouth going dry. Gwen gave him a soft smile and Gaius gave him a nod. "Well, that wasn't the first time I'd been punished." Merlin managed. He produced a believable smile. "As you know, I am quite a terrible servant." 

Gwaine snorted but the sound was more pained than amused. Both the King and Queen looked at each other, one in helpless guilt and the other with a calm determination. 

"Merlin," Gwen started softly. Her voice held such a nice quality that Gwen could tell Merlin he was dying and it would make Merlin feel better. "As the queen I want all of my people to be safe, including the servants." She took a deep breath, her face pinched in pain. "However, we aren't able to assure that everyone follows these rules." She sounded choked up and Elyan was awkwardly patting her shoulder. Merlin felt panic, that wasn't right, Gwen wasn't supposed to cry.

"You have refused our offer to be court sorcerer," Arthur took over, "and we understand that isn't something you'd like. We'd like to offer you another position, one that we believe is more suitable to what you want." Arthur straightened, clearing his throat to put on a regal voice, even as several of the knights snickered at the display. 

"Merlin, Dragonlord, Sorcerer of Prophecy, would you accept the position of royal overseer?" Arthur paused. Merlin still hated the use of his titles, but at least Arthur had dropped the 'Lord' and 'Sir' bit before his name. Merlin blinked slowly at the king, then to the queen, then back. 

"What is that?" Merlin asked. He had never heard of that position. Uther had several overseers that dealt out punishments to the lower servants as needed and gave out jobs, there had never been a royal overseer though. Gwen beamed at the question. 

"A royal overseer would be in charge of all the royal staff. Unlike  _ Uther's _ overseers, you'd be given less authority over punishments but you'd be expected to create work schedules and make sure we provide proper care. You'd also be responsible for taking complaints and concerns from the servants." Gwen explained. Merlin worried his lip, it did sound like more work he wasn't used to but it also sounded like he would get to help people. 

"Merlin, I've been made aware that the servants of my house have been neglected and mistreated for many years and I hope to undo that misdeed. Filling this position is important to that goal and I would be honored if it were you to fill it." Arthur said sincerely, even as his face soured. "You're too much of a useless manservant to keep around anyway." 

Merlin grinned, there was what he was waiting for. "I suppose this does sound like a job I'd want." He watched as everyone at the table cheered, Gaius shooting his ward a proud smile. 

"Perfect!" Arthur clapped. Suddenly Elyan was holding a small box out to his sister who took it in delicate hands. "Merlin, with Sirs Leon, Percival, Gwaine, and Elyan, court physician Gaius, and Queen Guinevere as our witnesses, I award you a highly respectable position in my court as royal overseer." 

Gwen took the lid off the box to reveal a metal brooch. The brooch took the shape of a bird in flight, green fabric hung from the back with blue dye sketching the shape of an eye. Merlin's breath caught in his throat. 

"Arthur…" he trailed off unsure on what to say. "Is that bird a merlin?" He joked. Arthur rolled his eyes as Gwen and Gwaine both giggled, the tension dissolving from the room that easily. 

Merlin didn't bother to speak, instead grabbing his new badge of power and pinning it to his vest. 

Arthur flopped down in his seat. "I can't believe you made me do that whole speech only to not even properly accept." He grumbled. And Merlin couldn't help it. He laughed as if his scars could be cured by his pure joy. 

He laughed so hard he collapsed against his king, who in turn chuckled and raised a goblet of wine to his lips. Gwen leaned into Arthur's other side. Before long the three of them, plus Elyan and Gaius who had been dragged in by their respective family members, were simply leaning against each other in a hug. Gwaine looked at the remaining knights at the table and grinned. He grabbed the two of them around the neck and launched them towards the others. He cackled with glee and shouted, 

"GROUP HUG!" 

**Author's Note:**

> Unpopular opinion: Merlin wouldn't want to be the court sorcerer. Merlin has gone from a farm kid to a servant, he wouldn't want to rocket to such a high position. It's just not who he is, I think he would accept a smaller position with less pressure (he already has enough pressure dear lord).


End file.
